When Jean Nett was invited by Gift of Life to visit Fenway Park and meet her lifesaving stem cell donor during a Boston Red Sox baseball game, she could hardly wait. For more than a year after her successful transplant in 2024, the 68-year-old resident of Luxemburg, a small suburb of Green Bay, Wisc., had wanted to meet the man who helped her overcome lymphoma.

Gift of Life learned that her donor, Carter McRell, 21, is a huge Red Sox fan so we reached out to our long-time partners at the team and made arrangements to bring them together on July 24, 2026.  The two were introduced in a private ceremony before the game, and they and their families visited the field, stopped by Gift of Life’s swabbing table to greet potential new donors, and cheered on the team together.

Jean was initially diagnosed after finding large bumps on her head and experiencing pain and weight loss. When her doctor took a biopsy, the cause was identified as lymphoma, a form of blood cancer. After both chemotherapy and CAR T-Cell immunotherapy were not effective, Jean learned that a stem cell transplant was her best remaining option. 

“I learned that my siblings were above the age to be donor candidates,” said Jean. “I also knew not every patient finds a match, so when my donor was identified, I felt many emotions. As my sister Cathy’s full-time caregiver, I needed extra help during treatment. Five family members rotated through every two weeks, plus we had incredible support from social workers and Visiting Angels. We celebrated Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s away from home, but it was special – an ongoing family reunion that lasted 110 days.”

In the meantime, Carter, a microbiology student on a pre-med track at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, had learned he was a match for a patient and went on to donate stem cells.  Carter has a personal commitment to giving back to the community, serving as an Eagle Scout, participating in the Zeta Beta Tau (ZBT) fraternity (a partner of Gift of Life), and donating platelets at the Red Cross.

“I swabbed on campus one day while passing a Gift of Life recruitment table,” he said. “It sounded similar to donating platelets, so it was right up my alley. When I learned I was a match, I was in the middle of finals. I called my parents and said, ‘Hey, I’m going to donate stem cells and save a life!’ and they were super excited for me. So were my ZBT brothers.”

Carter’s donation was scheduled after the semester ended, and although he was interning at the UMass Chan Medical Center research lab, they told him, “You do not have to worry at all about missing work; you are going to do a great thing.”  The collection center at Hackensack University Hospital also told him that he produced more than the number of cells needed for one donation, and he says that even so, he felt just fine the day after.

“I feel grateful for every new day, and try to make the world a better place,” said Jean. “Also, on the night she passed away, I promised my mother I would always care for my sister,  who had a traumatic brain injury in a car accident. Thanks to Carter, that is a promise I will be able to keep.” 

Carter wanted anyone who is thinking of joining the registry to understand more about his experience.

“A lot of people assume it’s very involved to donate, that it’s a complex process, but it really is not,” he said. “I swabbed to join the registry, then I did one blood test to confirm I was the best match for Jean and I had a physical. After that, a nurse gave me a few shots to boost my stem cells, and I had a two-day trip to the collection center and back. It’s not that complicated. Anyone can do it.” 

Carter, 20, is currently majoring in microbiology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and plans to go to medical school. He is a ZBT fraternity brother, and enjoys reading, staying up with politics and news, and music, and strives to be a balanced individual with a variety of interests. He is also a big fan of the Red Sox, the Patriots and the Celtics.

Jean, 68, is a retired K-2 multiage educator and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Superior. As her sister’s full-time caregiver, she enjoys providing both of them with a variety of experiences to enrich their lives, including immersing themselves in nature, which is easy in the scenic areas around their home.